As I would like to teach more in the future I have been thinking about some topics of courses that would be really interesting to me to teach. This site serves as a repository of sketches of courses I have been thinking about, but does not mean I wouldn’t teach other courses.
Philosophy of Technology and Design
Philosophy of Technology, how it relates to design, and how we can make use of it in design is an interesting intersection. A framework for this is presented by contemporary philosopher Peter-Paul Verbeek, who has taken a turn towards design in his philosophical investigations proposing an interesting perspective that designers could benefit from.
A course could involve an introduction to design students about PofT and Verbeeks work, following a design approach that will foster the design of more engaging artefacts. This relates to my PhD thesis work.
Designing with human involvement
A studio course that focuses on and embraces the design of artefacts that rely on human interaction to function. An example are human-powered artefacts like bikes, wind-up flashlights, or the rocking chairs that either shine light, knit or unknit when a person is rocking. This relates to my PhD thesis research.
Purposeful Purposeless Design
A studio course that engages in a Purposeful Purposeless Design approach. The idea is to design an interactive artefact without a particular use goal (purpose), but still design it in a designerly manner (purposeful). In other words, purposeful purposeless designs can be understood as interaction design artifacts that are designed with non-existent or weak use goals while being designed in purposeful matter (designerly). The result is a highly ‘finished’ looking artefact, which challenges people to find uses for.
Practice-oriented Design.
My current idea of a studio course involving research and design parts targets practice-oriented design. The idea would be to look at a practice that humans do (for instance Green DIY), analyzing elements of that practice (material, competences, and meaning [this framework comes from Shove, Pantzar, and Watson’s book ‘The Dynamics of Social Practice – Everyday Life and how it Changes’] and then designing towards that practice or an element of that practice.
This approach is inspired by our Green DIY study, in which as a result from our studies and theoretical advancements using a practice lens, we propose a practice-oriented design approach. Images below are from the paper we wrote on the study.